Improvement in cultivators and planters



" 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. M. WRIGHT.

Grain Drill.

Patented Aug. 1, 1865.

Irwentor N-PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D C.

' 2 h t-Sh t E. M..WR|GHT. sees 88 2 7 Grain Drill.

No. 49,204. I Patented Aug. 1, 1865.

\ v j' vew'tor Witnesses; I "457 ,4124 M1471.

N.PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPMER. WASHINGTON, n cy UNITED STATES .ATENTFFICE.

E. M. VVRIGHT, OF WILMINGTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND A.0.1)IBOLL, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN CULTIVATORS AND PLANTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,204, dated August 1,1865.

To all whom it may concern: The front ends of the central beams, D D,

Be it known that I, E. M. WRIGHT, of Wilof the under frames are securedand pivoted mington, in the county of Clinton and State of in hangers ww, attached to the front cross- Ohio, have invented a new and ImprovedGulpiece of the main frame, and the rear ends theretivator andSeed-Planter; and I do hereby deof, reaching back beyond the rearcross-piece clare that the following is a full and exact deof the mainframe, are suspended by means, scription thereof, reference being had tothe I first, of guide-rodsjj, (sliding in guide-blocks accompanyingdrawings, making part of this BR secured to the main frame,) which hookspeeifioation into links on the ends of a cross-bar, J, above;

Figure 1 being a plan of the implement; Fig. and the said cross-bar issuspended at the mid- 2, a longitudinal vertical section thereof in adie by a link or connection, 6, from the rear plane indicated by theline m m, Fig. 1; Figs. end of a vibratory lever, I, supported on the 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, views of parts detached. mainframe. Thefrontend ofthe lever reaches Like letters designate corresponding parts forward farenough to be under the direct conin all of the figures. trol of thedriver as he sits on a seat, 0, upon The objects of this implement are,first, to the main frame, so that by means of the lever cover in wheat,oats, and other seeds sown he can regulatethe height-of the underframes,

broadcast on light soils or plowed grounds; and consequently the depthat which the drillsecond, to furrow the ground to be planted teeth orshovels cultivate or run in the ground. with corn and other seeds,(tworows at atime;) By this means, also, the teeth or shovels are third,to cross-furrow the ground, to drop and lifted entirely away from theground. The cover the corn or other seeds, and to roll the front end ofthe lever I may be held down by land, it required, all at one operation;fourth, fastening it under a hook or hooks, 7c 7r, proto cultivateIndian corn from its first appearjeoting from a standard, K, in front ofthe driance above ground till it has grown too high ver,wherebythe underframes are held up from to cultivate between the rows, passing throughthe ground when desired. The tongue or pole two row-spaces at once, andto cultivate other M of the implement is also raised or lowered cropsplanted in rows. by its rear end pivoted to the main frame, while Theimplement is mounted on two wheels, A its forward end is free to move upor down, so A, the main frame B being composed of two that by means ofanother lever, L, arranged side pieces and two end pieces, with acentral as shown, its forward end connected withthe longitudinal piece,b, substantially as shown in tongue M and its rear end extending backFig. 1. Under this main frame are situated within reach of the driver,he can control the two smaller frames, each composed of a cenposition ofthe tongue or pole at will. tral longitudinal beam, D, with braced sideThe lever can be held in any position by pieces, at d, on each side,arranged as shown other hooks or projections, 70 k, on the standard inFig. 1, the rear ends of which side pieces, K. By this means the heightat which the respectively, are jointed to side bars, E E, by front endof theimplement runs is determined, means of iron strapsff and pivots cc, all suband it very greatly assists in regulating the stantially asshown. To these under frames, depth at which the teeth or shovelscultivate. respectively, three drill-teeth or shovels are Each of theunder frames supports the plantsecnred by their standards, whichdrill-teeth ing or cultivating apparatus for one row, and or shovels,together with a central foremost the distance between the central beamstheretooth or shovel, X, sustained by a connectingof, D 1), determinesthe distance between the piece, 2, between two cross-bars, Z Z, reachingrows. In order to accommodate this distance from one of the longitudinalbeams I) D of the apart to the actual or desired distance between saidunder frames to the other, make seven the rows of corn, the said centralbeams are teeth-the entire number ever used on the immadeadjustablelaterally under themainframe. plement. To accomplish this thehangers w 20, which sup port their front ends, are made adjustable invertical slots of the front cross-piece of the main frame, as shown inFig. 1, and the guideblocks It R, which determine the position of therear ends of the beams D D, are made adjustable in horizontal slots inthe rear crosspiece of the mainframe, as indicated by dotted lines inthe same figure.

The forward tooth or shovel, Y, of the three attached to each of theunder frames is secured to the central beam, D, by its standard. The tworear ones, H H, are secured respectively to the side pieces, E E, ofeach frame by their standards h it. These standards are pivoted at n a,Fig. 2, to the pieces, so that their angles thereto can be varied atpleasure to vary the obliquity and depth of the teeth or shovels H H. Tohold these standards firmly in any position curved braces or arms F Fare used, which are secured to thebeams at their upper ends and extenddownward and backward thence through mortises or aperturesin thestandards, and there is a set of holes, 0 o, in the curved arms, throughany one of which a wooden pin may be passed behind or through thestandards, thereby preventing the standards from being forced backwardunlessastrongobstruetion encounters the teeth or shovels, which wouldotherwise break or injure the said teeth or shovels, but in this casebreaks the wooden pins, thus allowing the standards to swing back andfree the teeth or shovels from the obstruction.

For the purpose of general cultivation, or for covering in grain sownbroadcast, the teeth H H Y of the under frames are set at equaldistances apart and require no change nor adjustment, and these six,together with the seventh tooth or shovel, X, situated centrally betweenthe under frames and farther forward than any of the other teeth, allthe distances apart being nearly-or quite equal, serve the purpose ofsuch cultivator without additional parts or arrangement. To keep thehinges, side pieces, or beams E Efirmly in one position for thesepurposes, bars G G extend from near their rear ends inward upon orthrough mortises in the central beam, D, overlapping each other, asshownin Fig.1. These bars are provided with sets of equidistant holes gg, through which a pin or bolt, passing also down through themiddlebeam,D, adjusts and holds the beamsEE in any fixed position 5 butfor cultivating between the rows of corn itis desirable, if notnecessary, to have these side beams constantly adjustable nearer to orfarther from the center of the frame in order to accommodate the teeth HH to any short crooks in the rows, or to any side swerving of theimplement, or to avoid any obstacle in the way, and this adjustment mustbe under the immediate and continual control of the driver as he sits onthe seat. To effect this purpose I employ the following device:

Under the center piece, I), of the main frame a wheel, 0, is pivoted at0. This wheel is so situated that the drivers feet rest upon it,

bearing against two of its spokes. Fig. 1.) By this means the driver canturn it in its horizontal plane in either direction, pushin g witheither of his feet, as the case may require, or holding it stationary bybearing with equal force against the opposite spokes.

Upon each central beam, D, of the under. frames a lever, Q, is situatedand vibrates on a pivot, q, as shown in Fig. 1. The rear end of thislever is connected with the side pieces or beams, E E. by bars 121),substantially as shown by dotted lines in the samefigure. Theseconnecting-bars may be adjustable, so as to adjust the side pieces orbeams, E E, nearer to or farther from the central beam, D. The front endof each lever Q is connected with the governing-wheel O by a connectingrod or bar, P, which is pivoted bothto the lever and to the wheel. Byvibrating the wheel 0 on its axis the two levers Q Q are simultaneouslyvibrated, and consequently the side pieces or beams, E E, of both underframes are vibrated equally and all in the same direction. For planting,the wheel 0 is also employed to enable the driver to plant bycross-furrows, just the same as with aplanting-plow, while walkingbehind the same. The method of doing this is thus:

The connecting-rods P l are'jdetached and the side pieces or beams, E E,are fixedin stationary positions by the bars G G, the same as forgeneral cultivation; or the side teeth or shovels, H H, are removed.

I employ a dropping apparatus similar to that described in a previousapplication for Letters Patent for a single-plow corn-planter, and Ishall only describe such portions there of here as will be necessary toshow the application thereof to the present implement, and to set forthsome improvementsthereon as here presented, The vibratory seed-droppingwheel U, Figs. 2, 6, 7, and 9, works the same as in my previousinvention, and to operate the seeding apparatus it is only necessary forthe driver to vibrate this wheel at themoments of passing over thecross-furrows. The connection between this dropping-wheel and thegoverning-wheel O is made bymeans of arockshaft, S, with an armprojecting upward, which is connected with the wheel 0 by a flexibleconnecting-rod, s, and as many arms projecting downward as there aredropping-wheels U U, each of which is connected with its arm by aflexible connecting rod, t. The relative lengths of the upwardly anddownwardly projectin g arms are such as to produce the requisitevibrations of the seed-wheels U U by a convenient extent of vibrationgiven to the wheel 0.

The return-vibration of the wheels UU may be produced automatically by aspring, y, as shown in Fig. 1, or arranged in any other suitable manner;but the motions of the seedwheels may be produced in both directions byoperating the wheel 0 both ways simply with stiff connecting-rods.

In order to render the vibratory motion of (Shown in I thedropping-wheels U U easy with as little friction as possible, two orthree rounded projections, m m, are formed on the bottoms thereof, asshown in Figs. 7 and 9, which represent a bottom and an edge view of awheel respectively. These projections rest on the supporting-plate Nbelow.

The extent of vibratory movement given to the wheels U U is limited by aprojection, u, on the upper side of each, as in Fig. 6 (a top view of awheel) and Fig. 9. This projection strikes partition-plates extendingacross the bottom of the spiral seed-separator V, a bottom view of whichis shown in Fig. 5.

The spiral separator has a projectingledge, w, extending forward fromthe brush w, as shown, so as to prevent the corn or grains from archingover the dropping-wheel, as is frequently the case with other droppingdevices, so that the dropping ceases for a time; but this simplearrangement effectually prevents all such obstructions.

There is a thin friction-plate, r, Fig. 5, between the brush to and itsfastening-wedge, whereby the brush is protected from disarrangement whenit is fastened in place.

The hopper T is secured under the central beam, D, of each under frame,and t0 the standard ot the forward tooth or shovel, Y, of said frame.

A curved piece of sheet metal, a, Fig. 2, called a staple, serves forassistiugto fasten the supporting-plate N to the standard by the flangethereof, and this staple and the flan ge' compose a tube for conductingthe seed down upon the adjustable scatterer below.

The standard of the tooth or shovelY has a bend at the proper point, soas to give the right inclination forward at the bottom, while the upperpart is vertical, and the seed-dropping apparatus is adapted thereto.

The seed is covered after dropping by shovels W, Fig. 2,0faclaw-likeform,substantially as represented, they being attached to thestandard of thefurrow-openin g tooth or shovel Y, and reachingbackbehind the seed-dropping apparatus. They drawthe moist mellow soil overthe seeds beforethe sods can roll in upon the same and impede theircoming up.

Behind thecovering-claws rollers graduated in weight follow, if the soilis suitable, and they may be adjustable in height so as to cover to anydepth required.

The drill-teeth or shovels are attached to their standards by sockets ormortises, as shown in Figs.3 and 4.,whichfit over the lower ends of thestandards, so that they are held very firmly in place, and theystrengthen the standards. The teeth or shovels are of chilled iron andare self-sharpening.

The inner tooth or shovel, H, of each under frame, as shown in thedrawings, is made of dart-head form. This is used only in cultivatingyoung corn or crops. It runs closely to theyoung corn,and from itspeculiar shape it runs under the surface of the ground, stirring it upwithout turning it over or injuring the corn.

. What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-- 1. The construction and arrangement of the under cultivator frames,composed, respectively. of long central beams, D D,fixed butadjustablein position, and of short side piecesor beams, E E, hinged and movableor adjusta' ble to and from the said central beams, substantiall y asandfor the purposes herein specified.

2. The governing-wheel O,arranged and operating substantially as and forthe purpose herein specified.

3. The combination of the governing-wheel O and the side pieces orbeams, E E, of the under frames through the means of the levers Q Q,connecting-bars p p, and rods or bars 1? 1, all substantially as hereindescribed.

at. Operating the seed-dropping wheels U U by the governing-wheel 0,under the control of the driver, by means of thelever-armed rockshaft SandfieXible connecting-rods s s and tt, or their equivalents,substantially as herein specified.

5. The projecting ledge 11 in the spiral seedseparator, substantially asand for the purpose herein set forth. 6. The friction-plate 1" betweenthe brush w and its fastening-wedge,tbr the purpose specitied.

7. The construction ofthe drill-teeth or shovels, with sockets ormortises fitting over their standards, for thepurpose specified.

The above specification of my improved cultivator and seed-plantersigned and witnessed this 10th day of December, A. D. 1864.

E. M. WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

JAMES A. BROWN, JEFF. HILDEBRANT.

